UFCThe Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a U.S.-based mixed martial arts organization, recognized as the largest MMA promotion in the world. The UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada and is owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC. This promotion is responsible for solidifying the sport's postion in the history-books.
UFC is currently undergoing a remarkable surge in popularity, along with greater mainstream media coverage. UFC programming can now be seen on FOX, FX, and FUEL TV in the United States, as well as in 35 other countries worldwide.

Every time I'm critical of the level of salaries that UFC fighters make, someone always shoots back: "but they always make a TON of sponsorship money!"

Invariably these claims are NEVER backed up with actual facts. Obviously, UFC fighters don't have sponsorship deals on the level of a Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, or even that brat Serena Williams.

Instead, it's Full Tilt Poker, condomdepot, guns 'r us, or some other semi-shady operation. And then there are the various supplement companies. These names aren't exactly comparable to McDonald's and Pepsi.

So what do contending fighters actually earn? I'm talking about fighers on the level of say, Keith Jardine, Cheick Kongo, or Frank Muir. Mid six figures annually? A lot less?

It's really sobering when someone like Frank Muir earns $45,000 as part of the main event of UFC 100, the biggest fight night in UFC history, but pays $60K for his training camp.

Cough up some figures, y'all.

I'd like to know that UFC fighters are making more than unionized sanitation workers in downtown Chicago.

Not sure, but I imagine it has to be a good chunk. Once Affliction paid GSP to not wear any sponsors since they had just been put on the UFC black list. But a lot of their sponsorship deals also include signing events, etc. So they aren't being paid just to wear the gear, they have some other stuff to do as well.

One of my passions in life is technology. I’m obsessed with gizmos and gadgets and am all but in love with my iPhone.

A friend who knows about my obsession had a computer he wanted to sell on eBay and asked me what I felt it was worth. He went to a Web site that showed an estimated street value, one I felt was considerably too high.

He argued that his asking price was justified because this web site was made up of experts and they agreed with him.

True, I said, but something is only worth what someone else will pay for it. And when we went to eBay and looked at completed listings for a computer with specs similar to his, he was shocked. People were only paying about half of what he thought he could get.

And that same analogy is true when it comes to fighter compensation. There is a lot of debate in the mixed martial arts media over what the UFC pays its fighters. It’s easy to take the stance that the fighters deserve more pay.

Of course they do. Getting punched in the face or kicked in the head is about as difficult a profession as one could choose. You only get paid when you actually compete, meaning an injury in training — by your or by your opponent — means you’ve worked two months for free.

So fighters deserve as much as they can get. I have always and will always advocate for the athletes in this sport.

But, when Kalib Starnes split ways with the UFC last week, he called his deal with the UFC an oppressive contract. He complained about his pay.

Clearly, the top UFC fighters don’t make nearly the amount that the top boxers make. But there is an incorrect perception that the other UFC fighters are being underpaid compared to boxers of the same level as well as fighters in the mixed martial arts community.

So I called the Nevada Athletic Commission and got the payment verification sheets for the last two major boxing shows (Bernard Hopkins-Joe Calzaghe on April 19 and Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez on March 15) as well as for the last major UFC show in the state, UFC 81 on Feb. 2.

According to state records, Hopkins and Calzaghe were each paid $3 million for their work. The next highest-paid fighter on that card was Audley Harrison, who made $20,000. There were nine fighters who made $5,000 or less, including two men, Marcos Mendias and Jermell Charlo, who made but $1,500.

Pacquiao made $3 million and Marquez $1 million for their epic rematch, but there were five fighters of the 14 on that show who made $3,500 or less.

At the UFC show, the lowest base pay for any of the 18 fighters on the card was the $4,000 that Kyle Bradley made.

The UFC also paid out $60,000 bonuses that night for knockout of the night, submission of the night and fight of the night. Plus, most of the fighters had bonuses for winning, so the opportunity was there for them to double their pay, which was not for the boxers.

And several agents, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have said the UFC occasionally pays its fighters bonuses it chooses not to announce to the public. These bonuses apparently go to fighters who perform superbly in a big fight.

Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre reportedly received a $500,000 bonus and a Hummer when he knocked out Matt Hughes at UFC 65 in Sacramento, Calif.

Additionally, fighting in the UFC makes an athlete significantly more attractive to a sponsor. Frank Mir made $85,000 for the logos he wore into the cage for his fight with Brock Lesnar that night. Had he been fighting in another organization, there’s zero chance he would have earned half that in sponsorship money and he likely wouldn’t have gotten 20 percent as much.

So Mir that night earned a base pay of $40,000, a win bonus of another $40,000, a submission of the night bonus of $60,000 and then hauled in $85,000 in sponsorship dollars.

He’s not going to be able to retire after that bout, but bringing in $225,000 for one night’s work isn’t bad at any time, especially in this economy. A fighter like Chuck Liddell is making around $6 million a year between his salary and his sponsorships and was making at least $9 million little more than a year ago. He was getting $75,000 a month from Xyience and received $1 million for just two weekends of promoting the movie, “300.”

“The UFC will pay you if you perform,” said fighter agent Dean Albrecht, Mir’s agent. “It’s like in the NFL. They’re not going to rip up your contract after one great game, but if you perform over a period of time, they’ll pay you and pay you extremely well. In the UFC, if you go out and fight and put on a great show, believe me, they pay extremely well and they can make some of these kids rich.”

Albrecht said another of his clients, Joe Lauzon, earned $8,000 for his bout with Kenny Florian earlier this month on Ultimate Fight Night 13. He would have gotten an $8,000 bonus had he won. Albrecht conceded the pay was low, but it was mitigated by a $20,000 fight of the night bonus and $52,000 in sponsorship money Albrecht negotiated.

He said if Lauzon had been fighting in a regional promotion, he would have made $2,000 to show, gotten $2,000 had he won and may have picked up another $500 in sponsorship. Even in the best case scenario, then, he would have made less than $5,000.

The IFL is bleeding money and likely won’t last past its next show. Elite XC in its most recent SEC report also conceded it may not have the funds to last the rest of the year. If it’s not able to pull at least a 2.5 rating on CBS for its May 31 show, it may be in jeopardy of failing.

The UFC, on the other hand, continues to thrive. It will provide a place for the fighters to sell their wares long into the future. There is no other North American-based promotion that can say that now other than the UFC.

So while the UFC should bump up the salaries of the fighters up and down the cards, given the rising merchandise sales, gate receipts and pay-per-view revenues, you also have to remember that they’re the only ones who are thriving and can pay consistently. It’s a two-way street.

I think the most interesting example is Joe Lauzon because the writer actually spoke to Lauzon's agent. Including sponsorships and a Fight of the Night bonus, he was paid $80,000 when he fought Florian at UFN 13. His agent estimated that he would have only make $4,500 at most if he was fighting in a regional promotion.

I think the most interesting example is Joe Lauzon because the writer actually spoke to Lauzon's agent. Including sponsorships and a Fight of the Night bonus, he was paid $80,000 when he fought Florian at UFN 13. His agent estimated that he would have only make $4,500 at most if he was fighting in a regional promotion.

Every time I'm critical of the level of salaries that UFC fighters make, someone always shoots back: "but they always make a TON of sponsorship money!"

It isn't sponsorship money that is the big dough, it is getting a cut of the ppv. The top draws get some of that, I have read a few times that it pushes their take to well over a million per fight for the Coutures/GSP's/Lesnar/Liddell types anyway.

The notion that fighters are making their money on "one night" is rather ridiculous, however. This does not take into account the 6-8 weeks of training prior to the bout, nor obviously, a lifetime of training in the martial arts.

Second, their actual income is their sponsorship money, purse, plus any PPV revenue (extremely unlikely except for a a few superstars) minus training expenses. In the case of a mid level contender such as those mentioned, they're making about as much as a retail store manager, perhaps a regional manager.

Except for a handful of top tier guys: Lesnar, GSP, Liddell in '07, most guys are doing this because they love to fight.

The fact that Mir ONLY got paid $45000 is a lie. Add that to the fact that he probably got paid more than $150,000 in sponsorship money (it was UFC 100 anyways). Also, its clear a nice bonus for the promotional work he did (going on the radio shows, trash-talking, etc.), which the UFC has been known to give fighters who do an exceptional job of it. That bonus could be as much as an additional $150,000. Then comes the cut of the ppv that main and co-main eventers get in a climate like this--I heard Lesnar made around $3 million so I'd assume Mir got at least $750,000 (but less than GSP's cut since he was the second biggest draw on the ppv). Add all that up and you have a wopping $1.05 million--its obvious Mir wouldn't go onto a tour of Canada to promote the UFC if he made $45,000 on a $150,000,000 revenue ppv.